In an emotional solo television interview, Lady Sarra Hoy, wife of Olympic legend Sir Chris Hoy, has spoken out about their personal health ordeals.
The sporting icon, aged 48, disclosed last year that he was battling terminal prostate cancer and shortly thereafter, Lady Sarra received her own devastating diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
Appearing on ITV’s ‘Lorraine’, Lady Sarra revealed the challenges they have encountered since their diagnoses and the resilience they’ve had to maintain for the sake of their children Chloe, seven, and Callum, ten.
Describing the harrowing period when they first learned of their illnesses, she told Lorraine Kelly, “You just don’t sleep, everything is awful,” detailing their determination to manage their situation. “It was about trying to control what I could, and I just thought, I can’t do anything about cancer, I can’t do anything about MS [Multiple Sclerosis], I can’t control any of that. What can I do? What can I help? What can I change?”.
She highlighted the inner strength both had to summon to stand against their adversities saying, “When everything is spiralling just to stop and say, ‘right now, we’re safe, the children are safe, this can’t define us. We will not become the victims of this.'” as added by Lady Sarra, reports the Daily Record.
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Lady Sarra Hoy, wife of Olympic legend Sir Chris Hoy, has spoken out about their personal health ordeals (Image: Getty Images)
Lady Sarra offered a heartfelt insight into parenting during such difficult times.
Explaining to Lorraine Kelly how vital their roles as parents remain amidst sickness, she said, “With kids you don’t get a chance, there’s no time to stop and have a day in bed, you just don’t get that opportunity. So yes, the children are everything for us and our family that surrounds us are everything.”
Lady Sarra spoke about her coping mechanisms and finding control, saying, “It’s been okay and I think people are really surprised to know that you can sort of be okay, and I think that’s definitely what’s helped us get through.”
The emotional conversation took place on Lorraine’s ITV show as part of the March4March campaign, which aims to support the one in four Brits struggling with low moods by highlighting the benefits of exercise for mental health.
Throughout March, Lorraine will be encouraging viewers and celebrities to pledge steps to reach a total of 3 million, covering the length of the UK.
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Lady Sarra appeared on Lorraine (Image: UK)
This powerful interview is set to air on Monday morning on the popular daytime show, following Sir Chris’s shocking revelation to the sports world when he announced his diagnosis.
In September 2023, he described receiving the news as “completely out the blue” and said it had brought about the “toughest year of our lives so far by some stretch.”
He revealed that there had been “no symptoms, no warnings, nothing,” and added: “All I had was a pain in my shoulder and a little bit of pain in my ribs.”
A scan revealed a tumour, and a second scan two days later identified the primary cancer in his prostate, which has since spread to his shoulder, pelvis, hip, ribs, and spine, and was diagnosed as stage 4, with a prognosis of two to four years left. Sir Chris Hoy has opened up about the harrowing moment he received his life-changing diagnosis, recalling, “It was the biggest shock of my life. I remember the feeling of just absolute horror and shock,” as he struggled to come to terms with the news last year.
He described his state of disbelief: “I just basically walked back in a daze. I couldn’t believe the news and I was just trying to process it, I don’t remember walking. I just remember sort of halfway home thinking ‘where am I?’ And then I was thinking ‘how am I going to tell Sarra? What am I going to say?’.”
Lorraine spoke to Sarra about her personal health battle (Image: ITV)
Yet, the ordeal took an even more devastating turn when his wife Sarra was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis three months later, a struggle she initially kept within the family. Sir Chris praised her resilience, saying, “The strength of Sarra is unbelievable, she kept it to herself,” and acknowledged how she supported him without showing her own distress: “Throughout all of that she was there for me but didn’t at any point crack. And it was really only in December that she said ‘this is the news I’ve had’.”
Reflecting on the couple’s darkest times, Sir Chris shared, “That was the lowest point I think. That was the point where I suddenly thought ‘what is going on?’ I almost felt like saying OK stop, this is a dream, wake me up, this isn’t real, this is a nightmare. You were already on the canvas and I just felt this, another punch when you’re already down – it was like getting that kick on the floor.”
In a show of incredible determination, the six-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy is set to take part in a charity cycle ride, Tour de 4, to send a powerful message about living with Stage 4 cancer, demonstrating that life can still be lived to the fullest despite such a serious diagnosis.
Lorraine airs weekdays on ITV1 at 9am
Sir Chris Hoy is gearing up for a significant event on September 7 at Glasgow’s Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, where he acknowledged: “It’s important to demonstrate it is possible to live well and lead a happy life alongside this devastating diagnosis.”
Following his revelation of a terminal prostate cancer diagnosis last year, the initiative has had a profound impact on raising awareness about prostate health, prompting more than 300,000 British men to get tested.